LEADING QUESTION (A weekly feature by Bob Frost)

MILTON FRIEDMAN

Friedman, 85, is a Senior Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution on the
Stanford campus. He won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1976.

Q: You are an advocate for the legalization of drugs such as heroin,
cocaine and marijuana. You recommend treating all drugs exactly as alcohol
is now treated. Isn't it likely that the number of addicts and users would
rise if such a policy were put in place?

A: The evidence is mixed on that question; the number might go up, or
might not. For example, on the one hand, leglization would make the price
of drugs go down sharply, which would of course increase the number of
users. On the other hand, there are a number of considerations that could
offset the lower price, and lead to a reduction in the use of drugs -- for
instance, legalization would remove the "forbidden fruit" aspect of drugs,
which serves to make them attractive to young people. In Switzerland,
experimental groups of addicts are able to legally buy drugs at low prices,
and the result has been a sharp reduction in crime, a sharp increase in the
number able to hold jobs and a reduction in addiction levels.

Whether the number of addicts and users goes up or goes down or stays the
same, one thing is clear: The harm done to our society and the world by
that use of drugs would be much less than the harm done under out present
system. The world would be, overall, a better place with legalization.

The available evidence indicates that our attempt to deprive individuals of
the freedom to use drugs such as heroin and cocaine has done far more harm
than good. It has filled our jails, corrupted our police, deprived people
of their civil liberties and imposed unbelievable horrors on other
countries such as Mexico and Colombia. On just this last issue -- the
effect of our drug policy on other countries -- I have never found anyone
able to give me a plausible answer on what right the U.S. has to destroy a
country like Colombia just because we can't enforce our own laws. If we
could enforce our laws, there would be no drug cartel there, no black
market, no endless string of drug killings and less instability in the
government. Because we can't enforce our laws, the country is being
destroyed.

Q: A strong majority of Americans, according to the polls, support a
continued prohibition on drugs. What do you think the chances are that
your views will become public policy?

A: I don't know, but I will say this: In 1930 it was widely believed to
be impossible to get rid of the unworkable prohibition on alcohol. I
believe that if the public were fully informed about the issue, there would
be overwhelming support for legalization.

Q: Are you one of these guys who get high on reefer and listen on the
headphones to "Dark Side of the Moon"?

A: No. (Laughs.) I have never smoked a marijuana cigarette, nor have I
used heroin or cocaine. I have no personal stake in this position.

Checked-by: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)